Indiana HOA Compliance
3. Compliance topics grid
1. Introduction
The Indiana Homeowners Association Act, Ind. Code § 32-25.5, governs HOA compliance in the state, while the Indiana Condominium Act, Ind. Code § 32-25, handles condominium projects under a separate article.1 The HOA Act covers mandatory-dues associations and applies automatically to associations established after June 30, 2009; selected provisions reach older associations as well.2
Recent Indiana legislation also uses the broader "property owners association" label for some issues and pulls in homeowners associations, condominium associations, cooperative associations, residential subdivision associations, and similar property owners associations.3 HOA disputes generally begin in Indiana trial courts — the circuit and superior courts — then move to the Court of Appeals of Indiana, with possible review by the Indiana Supreme Court.4
Indiana does not run a standalone HOA commission. The Real Estate Commission handles real-estate licensing, and the Attorney General's Homeowner Protection Unit takes HOA-related complaints and holds limited statutory authority tied to HOA matters.5
Recent activity is moderate: lawmakers passed a substantial 2026 HOA package, and a small set of appellate opinions addressed assessments, lien foreclosure, attorney fees, and governance defaults.6 Indiana therefore follows a state-statute and covenant-enforcement model, with the courts and the Attorney General — not a dedicated HOA commission — supervising the system.7
2. Primary statute and key resources
- Indiana Homeowners Association Act, Ind. Code § 32-25.5. Official IGA code. This serves as Indiana's primary HOA statute.8
- Indiana Condominium Act, Ind. Code § 32-25. Official IGA code. A separate article governs condominium projects.9
- Indiana Judicial Branch. Court system overview. Civil HOA appeals generally move from trial courts to the Court of Appeals and on to Supreme Court review.10
- Indiana Real Estate Commission and PLA. Real estate licensing. Official licensing materials cover brokers and managing brokers; the state does not issue a standalone HOA manager license.11
- Indiana Attorney General. Licensing Complaint and Enforcement. The Homeowner Protection Unit accepts complaints tied to homeowners associations.12
4. Indiana's recent regulatory landscape
Recent Legislation
Indiana lawmakers moved fast in 2026. Four signed bills overhaul HOA governance, fee authority, flag and fuel-source protections, ALPR limits, and private-road traffic enforcement.
HB 1152 · Public Law 53-2026 · 2026 Session
The law changes budget-adoption authority when a quorum does not appear, limits HOA service fees beyond the dues or fines spelled out in governing documents, protects amateur radio antennas in governing documents adopted after June 30, 2026, and limits restrictions on qualifying Class I child-care homes in single-family residences.[13][14]
| Property managers | Update budget-meeting scripts, account-fee schedules, antenna intake, and child-care request workflows. |
| HOA board members | Budget authority after a failed quorum is narrower, and boards should match it to the governing documents. |
| Community association attorneys | Review fee authority, budget clauses, antenna provisions, and child-care use restrictions before enforcement. |
| Homeowners | Owners gain new statutory limits on certain fees, antenna restrictions, and qualifying home child-care restrictions. |
HB 1115 · Public Law 155-2026 · 2026 Session
The law revises the rules for meeting attendance and board-meeting notice, adds agenda requirements, adjusts the rules for records and fees, caps owner and first mortgage-holder amendment thresholds at no more than two-thirds, and permits fines only after the association first adopts a violation and fine schedule.[15][16]
| Property managers | Refresh templates for meeting notices, agendas, record responses, amendment votes, and fine schedules. |
| HOA board members | Exercise fine authority only after the board adopts a compliant schedule. |
| Community association attorneys | Review governing documents that set higher amendment thresholds or rely on informal fine practices. |
| Homeowners | Owners gain clearer notice, records, amendment, and fine-process protections. |
HB 1150 · Public Law 26-2026 · 2026 Session
The HOA-relevant provisions restrict association rules that differentiate motor vehicles or outdoor equipment by fuel source, protect display of the United States flag and the Indiana state flag subject to reasonable restrictions, and bar HOA automated license plate readers except for law-enforcement systems with law-enforcement-only data access.[17][18]
| Property managers | Screen architectural and security policies for fuel-source, flag, and ALPR conflicts. |
| HOA board members | Run board security projects involving cameras or license plate readers through legal review before approval. |
| Community association attorneys | Check covenant language on flags, outdoor equipment, vehicles, and surveillance against the new statute. |
| Homeowners | Owners gain additional protection for flag display and fuel-source choices, subject to statutory limits. |
HB 1155 · Public Law 54-2026 · 2026 Session
The law creates a private-road traffic-enforcement pilot for HOA-governed subdivisions with at least 1,500 lots and at least 15 miles of HOA-owned and maintained private roads. It allows law enforcement to enforce speed limits and stop signs while barring enforcement of other HOA rules through the pilot.[19][20]
| Property managers | Eligible large communities need maps, road-mile support, board approvals, and law-enforcement agreements. |
| HOA board members | The pilot is narrow and does not turn HOA covenants into police-enforced rules. |
| Community association attorneys | Agreements with off-duty or public law enforcement should define authority, data handling, indemnity, and sunset risk. |
| Homeowners | Owners in qualifying pilot communities may face enforcement of private-road speeding and stop-sign rules; other rules stay off the pilot list. |
Recent Court Rulings
The Court of Appeals is sorting how governance lapses, assessments, and lien attorney fees fit together when an HOA moves to collect.
Sandoval v. Willow Lake Estates Home Owners Association, Inc.
The Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment for an HOA in a lien-foreclosure case. The court held that the HOA's failure to hold meetings, conduct elections, prepare budgets, or maintain common areas did not invalidate periodic assessments because the governing documents did not make those steps conditions precedent. The court also directed the HOA to comply with its documents and statutes going forward.[21][22]
| Property managers | Assessment collection files should still preserve meeting, budget, and records compliance evidence. |
| HOA board members | Governance lapses may not excuse assessments, but they still create litigation risk. |
| Community association attorneys | Test collection defenses against the governing documents' condition-precedent language. |
| Homeowners | Nonpayment is a risky remedy for governance disputes unless the documents or statute support it. |
Treyburn Lakes Homeowners Association, Inc. v. Scott
The Court of Appeals reversed a foreclosure judgment that excluded prior attorney-fee awards secured by an HOA lien and reduced current foreclosure fees without a hearing. The takeaway is record discipline: HOA lien files should tie prior judgments, recorded lien language, costs, and fee evidence into a record the foreclosure court can audit.[23][24]
| Property managers | Collection ledgers should track prior judgments, lien dates, costs, fees, and remaining balances. |
| HOA board members | Litigation budgets should account for hearings on fee reasonableness in foreclosure actions. |
| Community association attorneys | Fee petitions need itemized support, and counsel should request a hearing when a court may reduce fees. |
| Homeowners | Prior fee judgments may follow the lien into foreclosure if the lien secures them. |
Regulatory Developments
The Indiana Attorney General is the active regulator here. Its Homeowner Protection Unit issued formal guidance on political-sign and campaign-access rules in HOAs.
Indiana Attorney General
The guidance cites Attorney General authority under Ind. Code § 32-25.5-4-1, summarizes restrictions on HOA regulation of political signs during the statutory election period, and addresses candidate or volunteer access to HOA property. It carries a gated-community exception where the community controls access and privately owns and maintains the common areas.[25][26]
| Property managers | Run election-season sign and access issues through a written checklist before any removal or denial decision. |
| HOA board members | Keep sign size, number, location, and access rules within the cited statutory limits. |
| Community association attorneys | Review political-sign clauses and gated-community access rules before election cycles. |
| Homeowners | State law protects qualifying political signs and certain campaign-access activity. |
Active Policy Debates
Near-term policy activity in Indiana centers on implementing the 2026 HOA package — budget-quorum rules, fee limits, fine schedules, flag display, fuel-source provisions, ALPR restrictions, child-care use, amateur radio antennas, and the private-road pilot.27 HB 1155's pilot expires July 1, 2028, so lawmakers will likely take up renewal, revision, or expiration before that date.28
5. Closing note
HOA Weekly will expand its Indiana coverage as new bills, appellate rulings, and agency materials emerge.29 Federal frameworks — the FHA, ADA, FDCPA, SCRA, and OTARD — also apply to Indiana associations, and federal coverage will move to /federal/ once that section opens.30
Footnotes
- Indiana General Assembly, Indiana Code Title 32, Articles 25 and 25.5 ↩
- Indiana General Assembly, Indiana Code § 32-25.5-1-1 ↩
- Indiana General Assembly, House Enrolled Act 1150, 2026 ↩
- Indiana Judicial Branch, Learn about Indiana's Court System ↩
- Indiana Professional Licensing Agency, Real Estate Commission; Indiana Attorney General, Licensing Complaint and Enforcement ↩
- Indiana General Assembly, HB 1152 details; Indiana General Assembly, HB 1115 details; Court of Appeals of Indiana, Sandoval opinion; Court of Appeals of Indiana, Treyburn Lakes opinion ↩
- Indiana General Assembly, Indiana Code Title 32; Indiana Attorney General, Licensing Complaint and Enforcement ↩
- Indiana General Assembly, Indiana Code Title 32, Article 25.5 ↩
- Indiana General Assembly, Indiana Code Title 32, Article 25 ↩
- Indiana Judicial Branch, Learn about Indiana's Court System; Court of Appeals of Indiana, FAQs ↩
- Indiana Professional Licensing Agency, Real Estate Home; Indiana Professional Licensing Agency, Real Estate Licensing Information ↩
- Indiana Attorney General, Licensing Complaint and Enforcement ↩
- Indiana General Assembly, HB 1152, Homeowners association matters, details ↩
- Indiana General Assembly, House Enrolled Act 1152, 2026 ↩
- Indiana General Assembly, HB 1115, Homeowners association governance, details ↩
- Indiana General Assembly, House Enrolled Act 1115, 2026 ↩
- Indiana General Assembly, HB 1150, Local regulation, details ↩
- Indiana General Assembly, House Enrolled Act 1150, 2026 ↩
- Indiana General Assembly, HB 1155, Traffic enforcement, details ↩
- Indiana General Assembly, House Enrolled Act 1155, 2026 ↩
- Court of Appeals of Indiana, Sandoval v. Willow Lake Estates Home Owners Association, Inc., Opinion 24A-MF-309 ↩
- Court of Appeals of Indiana, Sandoval v. Willow Lake Estates Home Owners Association, Inc., Opinion 24A-MF-309 ↩
- Court of Appeals of Indiana, Treyburn Lakes Homeowners Association, Inc. v. Scott, Opinion 25A-CC-646 ↩
- Court of Appeals of Indiana, Treyburn Lakes Homeowners Association, Inc. v. Scott, Opinion 25A-CC-646 ↩
- Indiana Attorney General, Homeowner Association and Management Company Guide, Political Activities, Oct. 4, 2024 ↩
- Indiana Attorney General, Homeowner Association and Management Company Guide, Political Activities, Oct. 4, 2024 ↩
- Indiana General Assembly, HB 1152 details; Indiana General Assembly, HB 1115 details; Indiana General Assembly, HB 1150 details; Indiana General Assembly, HB 1155 details ↩
- Indiana General Assembly, House Enrolled Act 1155, 2026 ↩
- Indiana General Assembly, 2026 bills; Court of Appeals of Indiana, decisions ↩
- HUD, Fair Housing Act overview; ADA.gov, Law, Regulations and Standards; CFPB, Regulation F and FDCPA; DOJ, Servicemembers Civil Relief Act summary; FCC, Over-the-Air Reception Devices Rule ↩